In recent years, precision micromachining and its improvement of process development to meet customer demand to reduce the size, weight and material cost of leading-edge devices has led to fast pace development in high-tech industries in flat panel displays for touch screens, tablets, smartphones and TVs, leading to ultrafast industrial lasers becoming important tools for applications requiring high precision.
There are various known ways to cut glass. In a conventional laser glass cutting process, the separation of glass relies on laser scribing or perforation with separation by mechanical force or thermal stress induced crack propagation. Nearly all current laser cutting techniques exhibit one or more shortcomings: (1) they are limited in their ability to perform a free form shaped cut of thin glass on a carrier due to a large heat-affected zone (HAZ) associated with long pulse lasers (nanosecond scale or longer), (2) they produce a thermal stress that often results in cracking of the surface near the laser illuminated region due to a shock wave and uncontrolled material removal and, (3) the process creates sub-surface damage extending tens of microns (or more) into the body of the material resulting in defect sites which can become crack sources.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved process of laser drilling a material, such as glass that minimizes or eliminates one or more of the above mentioned problems, that minimizes or eliminates the above mentioned problems.